Wedding Planning | 4 Wedding Ceremony Tips

Ceremony lighting is SO important. If you’re getting married at noon, outside the right will be harsh creating shadows + a lot of contrast. For outdoor ceremonies I suggest starting your ceremony about two hours before sunset- if you’re having a first look or three hours before sunset- if you aren’t having a first look.

If you’re planning an indoor ceremony- it’s always best to have even lighting at the altar so the entire bridal party is in the same light. That means if you’ve having two spotlights on ya’ll then it makes it difficult to expose my camera for the entire room. The best solution is to have soft, even light across everyone.

ORDER OF SERVICE

I’ve seen my couples do a lot of really cool, different things during their ceremony. Everything from a unity candle to sand ceremonies to signing a family bible. I’ve also had some couples brand cowhides or pieces of wood.

The most important thing to remember when you’re planning how your ceremony will unfold is to do exactly what ya’ll, as a couple, want. THIS IS YOUR DAY!!

If you guys chose to have programs the BEST advice I can give you is to remember that not EVERY guest needs a program. Before you order your programs have several different people proof read + check for grammatical errors. Also be sure to delegate the responsibility of putting the programs out to someone you trust- a family friend or your coordinator.

That leads me to….COORDINATION

Regardless of if you hire a full event planner, a day-of coordinator or have a family friend lend a hand- it is so helpful. My couples quickly realized that if they didn’t put someone in charge that responsibility fell on one of their mothers, me or even sometimes the bride.

100% of my most stressful wedding situations were caused by a lack of organization + coordination. It’s so important to make this a priority!